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It's the kind of headline that jumps off the page or, in this case, the shelf: “Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money.”

In a nutshell, and I emphasize the nuttiness in that shell, a contributing columnist for Forbes recently opined in a since-deleted column that local libraries, and their free services, are no longer needed.

“At the core, Amazon has provided something better than a local library without the tax fees,” wrote Panos Mourdoukoutas, professor of economics at LIU Post in New York.

“This is why Amazon should replace local libraries. The move would save taxpayers money and enhance the stockholder value of Amazon all in one fell swoop.”

You're kidding, guy.

Next time you pass by a library, don't pass by: Think about actually going in and studying up a little.

Still, I'm glad the column, in all its goofy glory, was out there for a viral moment.

In a time when misquoted and mean memes fill our feeds, social media is still ablaze with posts and tweets about the library's role, worldwide, in a thriving community.

The writer, I think, fails to study the value we get for those tax dollars.

He assumed a lot (and you know what they say about that assuming stuff): That we all can or want to go to Starbucks, as Mourdoukoutas suggested, for free WiFi and socialization. That everyone who wants to read or learn has a tablet, laptop or smartphone and can afford to buy all books they want or need. That technology has rendered physical books "collector’s items," though sales of print books actually edged up in 2017.

"He's never seen the wait for the free computer access so that people can create resumes and apply for jobs," said my friend Jessica Brannan, who's worked at a library.

"He obviously doesn't know that the library fills a need for those who can't afford an Amazon Prime subscription, and that without a library, those people won't have access to free knowledge, to grow and learn and find work and feel empowered."

When a beautiful new public library opened in my small Kentucky hometown, my mother and I were among the first in line for cards. I was 4. And hooked, forever, on the joys and treasures housed in that building.

That library might just have fueled my life as a writer and advocate, too: By 10, I was demanding librarians order more books about important women in history. And at 15, I got a summer job there, restocking shelves and cleaning bathrooms (the latter duty was not one of those joys or treasures).

And 51 years after I stomped my foot and demanded to check out a book a librarian thought I was too young, at 10, to read, libraries remain crucial in American communities, with offerings from classes and computer use to community meeting space and 3D printers. In 2015, 65 percent of Americans age 16 and older polled by Pew Research said closing their local public library would have a major impact on their community.

In 2017, the same year two hurricanes smacked Florida, Brevard's 17 libraries still logged 2.5 million visits. More than 300 people work for the local library system and 5,000 people have volunteered. A man recently bequeathed $70,000 to the library in Micco. Over the past year, more than $1 million has been donated to Brevard libraries.

People still like physical books in their hands, Thompson confirmed. Reading programs for kids are thriving, and not just in summer.

And contrary to what Mourdoukoutas had to say, libraries not only keep up with the times, they're looking to the future.

In Brevard's Creative Lab at the Central library, for example, people of all ages can learn about the technical arts. A library volunteer gifted the library system with several thousand dollars' worth of electronic kits for kids, kits they'll be able to check out and take home, to learn more about coding and working with circuit boards.

"We're trying to engage children not just with literacy, but electronic literacy, too, and not just as users," Thompson said. "This is great, here on the Space Coast."

The theme of this year's summer's reading program for kids sums it up for me: Libraries rock.

They do, you know.

Check one out.

P.S. I did get to read "Gone With the Wind" at 10, by the way. Score.

Contact Kennerly at 321-242-3692 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter @bybrittkennerly or at Facebook.com/bybrittkennerly.